Priddy powers! The yard is looking awfully colorful these days.

The garden has taken off. We've had a mess of green beans several times, and Ga is storing them for the winter. I'm a big help in the garden.
Remember how mama posted that I love to jump. Here is an action shot caught by Ga this afternoon. Note that not a single part of my body is touching the slide. I like to stand at the top, jump off, and hope that I hit a little bit of slide on the way down. Poor Ga. I tell her the Leprechauns make me do it.

Feeding on green beans to gather my strength. Check them all out!

Trip to visit Luke and baby DavisOn Sunday, we stopped at the Bymans for a quick visit on the way home from the beach. Mama wanted to meet Davis, Luke's little brother. Davis' bilirubin count is high, so he needed to tan. Mama was happy to hold him outside in the sun to help out the Bymans. Nothing like a warm baby. Look at him, looks like he's grinning!
Sweet baby Davis.

See ya later Luke! Catch you on the fly by.

Uh oh! It's Mothers Day 2008 and we forgot to take a picture of me and mama! Mama took a picture of her favorite boys though, drinking coffee and milk respectively on the porch at the beach.

Right after breakfast, we all went back to work painting - me with water on the porch.

Beach days....

On Friday afternoon, Ga and I went down to the beach while dada and papa took a break from their painting and fished.

I was very into picking up seashells, which is now another word in my vocabulary. Ga tried to trip me up by telling me about some girl named Susie selling seashells, but I just didn't get it.

Seashells travel well and provided good amusement the rest of the weekend.

Lawnmower!
My papa got a new lawnmower for down at the beach. He can cut the grass fast. I begged and begged for a ride. At first, I called it a tractor, but now I know the difference between a tractor and a lawnmower.

Papa figured as long as I was doing the driving, he could have a beverage to stay cool.

22 months (yikes, almost 2 years old!)

Today was my 22nd month birthday. Time flies when you're having fun, and let me tell you, I'm having a ball. Watch what you say around me, because I repeat everything, even sentences now, like "Keegan, what are you doing???", which I hear mama say a lot. She calls me a nut. I love to jump, especially off things like the couch and sofa. I used to at least cushion my fall with pillows, but I'm much braver now. I stand on the edge of the couch, turn around and say "bye", and jump off. Poor mama and ga's hearts are getting stronger, or weaker, by the day. I love all vehicles, especially BIG BOATS and BIG TRACTORS. I'm also a fan of the bulldozer, planes and trains. Speaking of, my favorite books right now are The Little Engine that Could and Curious George (aka monkeys). At the end of the books, I say "again"? Mama usually falls for it. I love to eat "mummies" (aka gummy fruits) and drink "juice" (water with lemon slices) - the old staples of tomatoes, squash and berries are good too. Still love pa-cicles (popsicles), even if I do have to endure getting my nails cut some of the time to get one.

We're headed to the beach this weekend to finish painting. I'm sure I'll be a huge help.

Mama had to take a moment to brag on Peepaw....he made this plate out of glass for mama's birthday. Peepaw used to turn wood into beautiful bowls, but once he mastered that medium, he moved on to glass. We're all wondering what he's going to work with next, as it's pretty clear he's on his way to mastering glass as well. Isn't this piece stunning?

Playing in the fountains

Yesterday I was so well behaved that Ga rewarded me by taking me to La Centerra outdoors mall in Katy to play in the fountains. First she made me pose for this pic.
WOW! Check this out.
There was no use trying to keep me dry. Ga said she was going to wring me out. My shoes are still wet!

All good things must come to an end, but mama thinks we'll spend lots more time here this summer as it's right around the corner from our house.

Welcome Davis Matthew Byman!!!
My buddy Luke (born three days after me) welcomed his little brother Davis today. All went well and mama and baby are doing great. We will post pictures when we have a good shot of the little guy. For now, congrats to the Bymans and we can't wait to see you on Sunday!

The happy couple are cranking along on the beach house. A lot of rooms are painted and all the flooring is down. Mama and dada are going down this weekend to, cross your fingers, finish up the painting. After that it's moving time. Remember, mark your calendars for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend - the official kick off party!!!

Shower for Shooter. This weekend, mama and dada hosted a couples shower for Troy and Jordan (the ones on the small couch). Troy and mama were summer clerks together and have worked together ever since at Baker. Mama likes Troy because he has funny stories about growing up in west Texas. Jordan is from Texas too, but she is what Troy calls a "hippie", so mama and Jordan get along great. The shower went really well and everyone seemed to enjoy mama's food. When Jordan opened her gifts, however, mama had quite a surprise and shock when one of the partners from the firm gave the baby a BB gun for a gift, hence the nickname "Shooter". This was the first shower that mama went to where the unborn child got a gun - I guess they do things differently in Texas.
I was excited to wake up on Sunday to all the leftover balloons. Check out my new kicks. Real big boy shoes.
Fun stuff!

Mama bought these cool new blue margarita glasses for the shower, and when I saw them I begged for mama to put some water in so I could try them out. Going...
Going.... Gone. Ahhhh.
More please.

Dada's home! My dada went to a tournament last weekend, and I was so glad when he got home. Mama and I kicked it, but it's just not the same without him around. I know mama's faking it when she pretends to get excited reading the fishing magazines (see below for evidence) where clearly dada loves to read them. I was yelling "big boat" "big boat" "big boat", and dada was saying "soon enough" "soon enough" "soon enough". Stay posted.

I am all about the puzzles right now, and have mastered them so well that mama invented a game where she takes the pieces from all five puzzles, dumps them in my wagon, and then I have to figure out what puzzle they go into. I can spend literally an hour doing this, as long as I have my trusted spider man sippy cup.

Painting the beach houseThis weekend we went down the beach house to help Ga and Papa paint. Mama did the bedroom. Note the lovely tan lines - the purple stripe from the MS150 ride burn that's now peeling combined with the pink on top of her leg. That's good stuff, mama.

Papa painted the living room. Everyone loves this color.
My cousin Bill came down from Vermont to help too. We think we might be able to convince him to stay!

I even got my little hands in the paint and wasn't too happy when mama made me wash it off.

I also climbed the ladder, but Papa and mama showed me how the sign on the ladder warns against standing on the top rung. I was very careful to not stand on the very top.

Happy Birthday Marianne!!!
Today is my cousin Marianne's birthday - she's 12. I called her and talked to her on the phone and said "wagon" and "car" because I don't know "happy birthday" yet. Mama tried, but we couldn't get it hammered out on time. (In other news, I'm now telling mama "I love you" when she puts me to bed, which gets tears from mama every night)

Ga went up to visit the gang a couple weeks ago and celebrated the April and May birthdays.

Marianne and Brenden got new bicycles for their birthdays and Ga took a spin. Mama couldn't resist posting this picture. I guess Ga had a good time up there.
My cousin Brenden is a nut. If he was here, I would call him "a nut".

Welcome home Hudson!

Precious little (6lbs, 1oz) Hudson Michael McCarty was born a week ago today to Stacy, mama's law school buddy, and Nathan. He is so sweet - just look at those cheeks. Hudson had to stay in the hospital for an impossibly long week to treat pneumonia and jaundice, but he's as strong as his mama and will be coming home today or tomorrow. We are all so happy for Stacy and Nathan and can't wait to meet Hudson and to see Jackson, big brother extraordinaire, soon.

Bye bye Meemaw! My Meemaw left today to fly back to Chicago to keep peepaw company. Thanks for coming into town so that mama and dada could ride in the MS 150; so Ga could go to St. Joe to hang out with Marianne, Brenden and Bridget; and so that we could play together. I love my new train!
I know you'll always remember the "booger" story. I blew my own nose on Saturday, looked down at the tissue and said "boogers." Meemaw said she almost fell out of her chair - she couldn't believe that mama taught me that word. We both had a good laugh over that one. We sure did have a good time, and now maybe you'll understand I'm saying "pretty flowers" when I say "priddy fowers" on the telephone. Love, Keegan

MS 150 2008 Despite very little training this year, mama and dada agreed to do the MS 150 bike ride from Houston to Austin. This is the fourth year one or the other has participated. The first year they both rode; the second year dada rode alone because mama was pregnant with me; the third year mama rode alone because dada tore his hamstring. It was rough going with the training for dada because his hamstring is still sore and mama just couldn't get her groove on. She paid for it!
Paw paw did all the driving and beverage providing. He was awesome and mama and dada can't thank him enough. He posed with Justin at Baker Hostetler's tent in LaGrange. Here is mama and Justin on Day 2 of the ride during lunch. Mama is forcing that grin, I can tell.

But she's not forcing this one. Here she is after just crossing the finish line. She says that that is the best feeling in the world: seeing people hold up signs that say "I/my dad/my mom has/have MS - thank you"; having people ring cow bells; and sing congratulations. There is just no feeling like it. That's what makes her come back year after year.
Posing with Justin after the finish. Relief! Dada's hamstring was so sore this year because there was a 20 mile an hour head on wind all day the first day that he wasn't able (aka mama wouldn't let him) do day 2 of the ride. If he sat at a desk all day it would be different, but there are lots of kids and adults that rely on him to teach taekwondo. So, dada did the smart thing and rested his leg.
Mama posing with Matt, Allison's husband. Allison was mama's ride partner last year, but she is due to deliver my buddy Luke's little brother Davis in early May. Allison's doctor told her that that unless she wanted to deliver Davis in Austin, that she'd better stay in Houston. We missed you Al!
WOW! Look at that sunburn. Mama swears she put on sunblock, but it certainly doesn't look like it. Note the "two layers" of sunburn. The first layer on the upper thigh is from the bike shorts. The second layer on the calves is from long leg warmers that mama wore the first day up until the second to last rest stop. Mama said this look is going to be particularly pretty during bathing suit season.

The absolute worst sunburn ever, even worse than Florida Spring Break 2004, is on mama's back left calf. Look at that puppy. Mama walks gimpy because of it -the skin is all tight and when she stands up the blood rushes to it and it feels like pins and needles. Kids - WEAR YOUR SUNBLOCK! LOTS OF IT!